🇨🇫 Central African Republic (Bêafrîka)
Visiting: Dangerous
The Central African Republic presents serious risks to any visitor. Homicide ranks 166th and conflict 162nd, both in the bottom twenty, and worse still, freedom is close to absent, placed 177th. Women's safety is extremely poor, at 170th, and the roads are as deadly as anywhere, placed 166th. Beyond that, only LGBT rights escape the worst of it, ranking 102nd.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Central African Republic: 18.1
Ranked 15th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Eighteen killings per 100,000 people a year is nearly twice the ten that marks the deadliest countries.
Is it safe to visit?
The homicide figure is beside the point — the Conflict score is what matters here. No count has ever come out of the country, and the WHO's wartime estimate can't mean much.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Central African Republic: 25.9
Ranked 15th in the world for the deadliest roads.
Why this rank?
Twenty-six deaths per 100,000 people a year is nearly double the world average of fifteen.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe, and half the deaths are people on motorbikes.
Conflict
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Central African Republic: 4.14
Ranked 19th most conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
UN sanctions over its conflict put the Central African Republic in the dark red. 260 people died in fighting inside the country in the year to July 2026, 62 of them civilians killed on purpose.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe outside Bangui. The capital is held, but armed groups roam much of the countryside and the roads between towns.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Central African Republic: 0.10
Ranked 4th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In the Central African Republic due process and movement are rated 0, meaning absent, so the courts offer no protection and movement is controlled. Total 1 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Insecurity across much of the country, militias in the hinterland, and attacks on civilians in rural areas. Courts offer no protection, movement is unsafe, and aid workers operate at great personal risk.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Central African Republic: 2.9
Ranked 79th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts are not criminal in themselves, but public expression of love between people of the same sex carries up to two years. Law and opinion both score 29.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care. Between the war and deep hostility there is no space for any open life, and a public gesture is itself an offence.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Central African Republic: 3.79
Ranked 11th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Attacks on women were recorded throughout 2024, the courts rate poorly, and partner violence is one in five. Only half of women feel safe out alone at night.
Is it safe to visit?
The Central African Republic is a high-risk destination for a woman travelling alone.